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Noted Christian Author To Speak In Fort Smith

Noted Christian Author To Speak In Fort Smith

PHOTO COURTESY OF CARVIN.EDU Christian author Lauren F. Winner will speak from 5-6 p.m. Sept. 14 and from 10-11 a.m. Sept. 15 at First Presbyterian Church, 116 N. 12th St. She is the author of the books, “Girl Meets God” and “Mudhouse Sabbath.”

Fast Facts

Guest Lecture with Lauren Winner

When: 5-6 p.m. Sept. 14 and from 10-11 a.m. Sept. 15

Where: First Presbyterian Church, 116 N. 12th St.

Winner, an acclaimed Christian author and lecturer, will speak on a variety of topics. The event is free but reservations are required. Reservations can be made by calling 783-8919.

A Christian author, speaker and columnist will share her experiences and faith later this month in Fort Smith.

Lauren Winner will serve as guest lecturer from 5-6 p.m. Sept. 14 and from 10-11 a.m. Sept. 15 at First Presbyterian Church, 116 N. 12th St. The author of “Girl Meets God” and “Mudhouse Sabbath” will make a presentation and answer questions from those attending; the event is free, but reservations are required.

“It’s a great priviledge to be invited to do a presentation at a church,” said Winner during a recent telephone interview. “With my presentations, I like to try to model a truth-telling style, whether it’s with my own spiritual journey and faith or other experiences of mine.”

Critics and fans have called the Durham, N.C., resident a significant voice in American Christianity. Her study, “A Cheerful & Comfortable Faith: Anglican Religious Practice in the Elite Households of Eighteenth-Century Virginia,” was published by Yale University Press.

Winner, who has appeared on PBS’s “Religion & Ethics Newsweekly,” has been featured in the The New York Times Book Review, the Washington Post Book World, Books and Culture, Christianity Today and Publishers Weekly. She is a former book editor for Beliefnet and teaches at Duke Divinity School in Durham.

“When I make my presentation, we will dig into some topics and discussions, and there’s a Q&A moment, too,” said Winner, who holds degrees from Columbia, Duke and Cambridge universities. “I wish I could do the Q&A part at the very beginning, so I can know my audience and know what is on their mind.

“But it will still be great to make the presentation,” Winner added. “I remember Fort Smith — I stopped and ate at Rolando’s Restaurante on my way to another engagement — and I liked it.”

Unlike some people, Winner thinks many journalists are treating Christianity with respect.

“I would say that religion journalists have been superb over the last 10 years,” she said. “Religion journalists inform themselves and they take their task very seriously. They seem to treat other people of other faiths and beliefs with respect, and that is something that is important.”